Edith Rosena (Hacking/Flowers) Newcomb was the daughter of Mary Ann (Wilson) (Hacking) Flowers (1835-1868) who was born in Pennsylvania but lived in Virginia and then in Montgomery County, Iowa.

Who Edith's father was, is uncertain to this writer. And, there is an unusual story about that. Edith's mother Mary Ann Wilson was first married on March 29, 1854 in Lee County, Iowa to Henry H. Hacking (1833-1862) who was born in England. They had a daughter Henrietta Hacking, born in 1856. Mary Ann and Henry Hacking had not been married for long when Henry had to return to England to claim his part of his father's estate as the oldest son when he came of age. His father had died in 1848 and his mother took him and his siblings and immigrated to America, settling in Ohio in 1849. During Henry's return trip to the States, his ship was lost at sea and all passengers were presumed dead. When word reached Mary Ann, she grieved, then later felt free to remarry, which she did.

The date of Mary Ann's remarriage is not known to this writer, but it was between 1856 and 1860. She married Samuel Flowers in Iowa. This writer has been unable to find this marriage record so I do not know the date of the marriage. Edith Roena was born in 1858, and since we do not know the date of the Flowers' marriage, this is why relatives at least on the Wilson side do not know if Edith was the daughter of Henry Hacking or Samuel Flowers.

In the 1860 census for Red Oak Township of Montgomery County, Iowa, Mary Ann and Samuel Flowers are married. Edith is 2 years old. Edith and her sister Henrietta are listed with the last name of Hacking. By having this last name, it seems that Edith was the daughter of Henry Hacking, perhaps born after he left for England. However, we know that census records can get names wrong. Also, Edith's name was apparently misunderstood by the census taken in 1860 as it is spelled Eana Roena on this record.

(Note: In this 1860 census, the Flowers family also had a son named John Sylvester Flowers (1852-1929). He was the son of Samuel Flowers' by his first marriage.)

Sometime in the early 1860s, to everyone's surprise, Henry Hacking came back, having survived his shipwreck. Understandably, he was very upset when he heard that his wife had remarried. It is unknown whether he actually saw his wife after his return or if he just wrote to her and learned of her remarriage. It would appear that he did not see her as very shortly it was in Philadelphia that he enlisted or was drafted into the Civil War on May 30, 1861.

Henry's daughter later applied for a pension from her father's Civil War service. That record contains letters which Henry wrote to his mother and siblings expressing his anger at his wife and instructing his family that if anything happens to him, to allow money for his child but not for his wife (which shows he only knew of one child). In 1862, tragically, Henry was killed in the war at the battle of Turkey Bridge in Virginia.

On December 19, 1874, Edith Roena married Benjamin Brackett Newcomb in Iowa. On the marriage record, Edith listed her last name as Flowers. It's possible that Mr. Flowers adopted her after Henry Hacking died, but this writer does not know for sure.

Edith had two siblings named Flowers as it is known that her mother Mary Ann had two children by Samuel Flowers:

The Newcombs were adventurous people. They were married in Iowa and their first two children were born in Lyon County, Iowa. By 1879, they had moved to Jewel County, Kansas. In 1881, they were in Erath County, Texas where they stayed until the late 1890s when they moved to Oklahoma where Benjamin and Edith spent the rest of their lives. The Newcombs also had great sorrow in their lives as many of their children died young. When Edith died in 1929, only 4 of her children were still living, 3 sons and 1 daughter.

Edith died in 1929 and Benjamin in 1933; both are buried at Red Rock Cemetery.

- Written by Blytha (Dennis) Ellis, 4th cousin to Edith

OBITUARY

THE OKLAHOMAN (Oklahoma City, OK)

1/25/1929 Deaths & Funerals (Friday)

Funeral services for Mrs. Edith Newcomb, who resided at 26 E. A Avenue, will be held Friday afternoon at 3 o'clock at the Capitol Hill funeral home, in charge of Rev. Steel Smith. Burial Saturday at Indianapolis, Okla. She is survived by her husband, three sons, A.E. and N.B. Newcomb of Oklahoma City, Raney Newcomb of Oilton, and daughter, Mrs. Ester Leader of Calumet, Okla.